


Lemongrass and Sleep

by ohheykat



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 08:35:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20022502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohheykat/pseuds/ohheykat
Summary: Kaylee stays with Shelby for a week and gets sick, Alyssa has turned into a drill sergeant because nationals are in a week, and Shelby is a disaster bisexual. What could go wrong?





	Lemongrass and Sleep

“Girls week!” Kaylee squeals as she opens the door to Shelby’s house. They had been living next to each other for so long that knocking was no longer necessary, both entering each other’s house without hesitation. “Hey Mr. D!”

“Hi Kaylee,” he smiles softly, the kind of warm smile you typically saw on an old man who knew too much about the world. “Shelby’s upstairs in her room.”

The brunette nods before grabbing her stuff and running up the stairs, not bothering to knock a second time as she entered her best friend’s room. Shelby is sitting at her desk, earbuds in her ears, as she works on some last-minute stuff for her English class. “Hey Kay,” she says, not looking up as she scribbles onto a piece of paper.

“Hey,” Kaylee greets, slipping off her shoes and sitting on her best friend’s bed. “What’s the plan for this week?”

“We have school,” she responds, biting her bottom lip as she tries to think of the right word to write down. “Just because your parents are out of town doesn’t mean we get to go wild. My dad still has rules.”

“I know that silly,” Kaylee rolls her eyes, flopping back onto the bed. “I meant what’s the plan for cheer this week? Is Alyssa still drilling us with three-hour practices?”   
“Three and a half,” Shelby finally turns around, pulling her earbuds out of her ears. “Four if we don’t get our shit together soon.”

The brunette groans, rolling over onto her side to face her best friend. “Is she trying to kill us?”

“Quite possibly.”

Shelby climbs onto the bed next to Kaylee, allowing the younger girl to curl into her side. Her arm automatically wraps around her, and the two girls are in a position that they had been in a hundred times before. Being best friends for such a long time made it easy to be comfortable with each other. “Can we watch a movie?” Kaylee asks, eyes suddenly feeling incredibly droopy.

“You know we can,” Shelby sits up, and Kaylee whines at the loss of contact. “Chill, I’ve gotta get my laptop from the living room. Do you want any snacks while I’m up?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Who are you and where’s Kaylee?” Shelby jokes before seeing the younger girl wrap her arms around her stomach. “Okay, no snacks then. Do you want some Gatorade? We got the yellow kind just for you.”

Seeing her best friend nod, Shelby makes her way downstairs to grab the supplies. By the time she gets back to her room Kaylee is sitting against her headboard with her knees pulled up to her chest, and one of the softer blankets from her bed is wrapped around her shoulders. Shelby smiles softly as she climbs onto the bed next to her, opening her arms to pull the younger girl close. “What movie?”

“Teen Beach?”   
“Whatever you want.”

Kaylee curls next to the darker haired girl, head resting in the crook of her neck the same way it had a thousand times before. “You’re warm,” Shelby comments, letting her arm fall around her waist. This position was normal for them. They were best friends after all.

“I’m fine,” Kaylee sighs contently, interlacing her hand with Shelby’s and resting both of them on her stomach. “You worry too much you know.” She can feel the way the girl is tensing up.

“Just don’t get me sick,” she tries to play it off as being nervous about illness before nationals, but really her racing heartbeat has everything to do wth the girl lying on her. “Alyssa would murder both of us.”

“At least we’d die happy together,” her voice is slurred slightly, and Shelby knows she has to be exhausted.

“I guess so,” she carefully moves them both into a lying position. “Close those pretty eyes. We’ve got a long day tomorrow.”   
Kaylee nods, soft snores escaping her lips as Shelby smiles, attempting to mentally prepare herself for the week ahead.

* * *

“You have to eat,” Shelby is begging her to touch something on her plate the next day at lunch. “You know Mondays are Alyssa’s conditioning days and the last thing I need is you passing out on me.”

“I’m not hungry!” she protests, pushing away the plate in front of her in an act of defiance.

“What the hell are you two arguing about?” Alyssa asks as she sits down with Emma, who has her nose in some kind of book and no food at all.

“Kaylee refuses to eat.”

“Emma’s not eating!”

“Emma doesn’t have a four-hour cheer practice today.”

The blonde’s head pops up at the mention of her name before looking down again, and Alyssa rubs her back. “Em’s appetite still hasn’t recovered from that food poisoning scare.”

She groans. “Don’t remind me.”   
Shelby and Kaylee both giggle a little at the two of them before Kaylee leans her head on Shelby’s shoulder, immediately making the older girl shut down her previous arguments. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“I just didn’t sleep well last night,” she makes an excuse, closing her eyes a little. “You’re a pain in the ass to share a bed with.”

“Hey!” she playfully pushes her off, but the smile on her face disappears when she sees the grey tint to Kaylee’s face. “Well, why don’t you try to get some sleep before we head to cheer today? You have a free period next don’t you?”

Kaylee nods, mumbling something about sleeping in Shelby’s car until her next class, before getting up and walking out of the building. “Keep an eye on that,” Alyssa says as soon as she’s out of earshot. “If she gets anyone else on the team sick we’re going to completely breakdown.”

“Yes, captain,” Shelby rolls her eyes. 

By the time she was getting changed for practice, Shelby had practically forgotten the girl who had been sleeping in her car. Well, that was until she walked into the locker room, her face ghost white and eyes barely able to stay open. “Jesus Christ,” Shelby pulls her to the side, making one of the freshmen get up so she could sit on a bench. “What’s going on?”

“I’m fine,” Kaylee shakes her head, which was apparently a bad idea because the next second it’s in her hands. “I’m just tired. I slept through my other classes.”

“We need to get you home, there’s no way you can-”

“Let’s go girls!” they can hear Alyssa yell from the gym.

“We’ve gotta go,” she sighs, grabbing a hairband to put her hair into a ponytail. “I’ll be okay.”   
Shelby sighs. She doesn’t want Kaylee to practice like this, but she also knows what arguing with Alyssa is like, especially when she has her mind set on something. They walk into the gym to find Alyssa already stretching and jogging up and down the gym. “This should fun,” Shelby mumbles as she follows her lead.

“I want to see stunts today!” Alyssa announces as they finish their warm-up. “Specifically Kaylee’s group, because y’all’s has to be perfect before the competition.”

“Is that really a good idea?” Shelby doesn't normally question Alyssa, but today is an exception. “We have two weeks before the competition.”

“I think we should perfect it now so we don’t have to worry about it later.”

Shelby just rolls her eyes, she knew there was no point in arguing with Alyssa. Standing with her own stunt group, she watched as Kaylee’s hoisted her into the air, a smile gleaming on her face as she threw her leg up beside her. Shelby swore that she could get lost in that smile any time, any day, even when she knew the other girl wasn’t feeling good. As she stares at the girl she can’t help but smile back, despite the fact that she knew it had to be a fake one. There was no one more beautiful to her than the girl in the air.

...the girl on the ground.

“Kaylee!” she’s on her feet in seconds, body moving on autopilot as she rushes towards her best friend. Kaylee stares up at her as she kneels beside her, taking her head in her hands. “Are you hurt?”

“I don’t think so,” she lets Shelby help her into a sitting position. “I got up there and I was fine, but then I started getting really dizzy. Kind of like now.”

Shelby pulls her close to her so she won’t fall again, then lays a hand across her forehead. “Jesus Christ, no wonder you got dizzy. You’re burning up.”

“I’m fine,” Kaylee tries to stand up, but ultimately ends up falling back onto her best friend. “Let’s run the stunt again.”

“Hell no,” Shelby stands up before helping her to her feet, carefully putting an arm around her waist and tucking the younger girl into her side, making sure to support her weight. “I’m driving you home.”

Kaylee doesn’t have the energy to argue with her, and it doesn’t look like Alyssa’s going to either. In fact, their friend grabs both of their bags and walks out to the car with them, helping Shelby get the younger girl buckled into her seat before putting their stuff in the back. “Hey, let me know how she’s doing tomorrow okay?”

“I will,” Shelby smiles a little as Alyssa pulls her in for a hug.

“Take care of her and yourself please,” she sighs as she pulls away.

“I will,” she repeats, now anxious to get Kaylee home and figure out what was going on. “Love you ‘Lys.”

“Love you both!” Alyssa smiles as Shelby climbs into the front seat. “Text me if you need anything.”

Shelby nods, closing her door before pulling out of the parking lot. Kaylee whimpers as they find themselves on the winding roads before her house and Shelby reaches out one hand to hold hers. “You’re going to be okay,” she says softly, rubbing her thumb over her knuckles gently. “We’re almost home, Kay.”

When they reach her house, Shelby doesn’t bother to get their bags out of the back and instead goes straight for Kaylee, who shakes as she tries to stand up. The darker haired girl tucks her into her side again, rubbing her back as she helps her into the house. “Do you want to try to go upstairs or do you want to lay down on the couch?” she asks, and she gets her answer when Kaylee struggles out of her arms to sit on the seat. “Alright honey, you want the soft blanket and the pillow?”

Seeing her best friend nod, she runs up the stairs to grab those things, before running back down to find Kaylee barely able to keep her eyes open sitting up. “Lay down honey,” she says, and she tucks her in with the blanket as she does so. “Movie or no?”

“Watch whatever you want to,” Kaylee mumbles, burying her head in the pillow. 

Shelby sits in the recliner and puts on a movie, but she doesn’t pay much attention to it. Instead, she watches as her best friend’s chest rises and falls with labored breaths, and she tries to make a mental note of that. 

They’re still sitting there when her dad gets home from work, and he startles Shelby as he taps on her shoulder to get her attention. “What’s going on?” he asks, concern laced in his voice. “I thought you guys had a long practice today.”

“Kaylee’s sick,” she sighs, eyes wandering back to the girl sleeping on the couch. “She started running a fever during school and could barely stand up during practice.”

“Do we need to take her to the doctor?” he asks, brows furrowing as he watches the younger girl break out in a coughing fit. 

“I don’t know,” Shelby mumbles, watching as her best friend’s eyes open as she tries to sit up. “Hey, Kay, how’re you feeling?”   
“Head hurts,” she mumbles, her voice thick with congestion, and she pushes herself into a sitting position.

“Yeah?” Shelby sits next to her, rubbing her back as she begins to cough again. “Do you feel okay enough to get up the stairs now?”

Kaylee nods, and Shelby helps her to her feet. “I’m making chicken noodle soup for dinner,” Shelby’s dad says as his daughter helps her best friend up the stairs. “I’ll bring it up on a tray when it’s ready.”

“You’re the best,” Shelby smiles, and soon they’re sitting on the edge of her bed. “I’m gonna set up the air mattress tonight for me, just so you can have some space.”

“No,” Kaylee whines, arms suddenly wrapped around her best friend’s waist. “I want to lay with you.”

Shelby sighs. She knows that if she gets sick Alyssa will have her head on a stick, but she also knows that there is no denying the puppy eyes on Kaylee’s pouting face. “Come here,” she says softly, tucking her into her side as they lie down. “You’re never this clingy.”

Kaylee whines at her teasing, but buries her head in Shelby’s shoulder, shivering from the cold. Shelby gets up suddenly, which makes Kaylee whine at the loss of contact. She quiets down as her best friend returns with one of her Nationals hoodies from the year before, helping her slip it over her head. “Warmer?”

She nods, snuggling herself close to her best friend’s body. Shelby sighs, knowing all to well that she’ll end up sick soon enough, which would drive Alyssa crazy. She doesn’t have time to think about that, though, as she watches Kaylee fall asleep, her breathing finally evening out. It was going to be a long night, but she had a feeling it would be worth it.

* * *

“Shelby, eat,” Alyssa feels like she’s switched roles with the other girl. 

“I’m not hungry,” she mumbles, refreshing the page on her phone for what feels like the hundredth time.

“You better not be getting sick before Nationals,” her friend comments, pointing her fork at her accusingly.

“Which one of us hooked up with our girlfriend who had strep before regionals?”

Emma nearly spits out her drink. “And on that note,” she coughs, setting down her water bottle. “I think I should go.” She collects her stuff and is out the door of the cafeteria without another word.

“What was that about?” Kevin asks as he slides into his seat next to Shelby.

“Shelby decided to reference me and Emma’s riveting sex life,” Alyssa grumbles, rolling her eyes as the girl across from her laughs a little. 

“Why? Are you guys gonna start filming porn or something?” Nick asks as he sits next to her.

“Ew! Nick, no!” Alyssa slaps his arm. “This is why Kaylee broke up with you.”

“No, she broke up with him because she caught him hooking up with-”

“Shut up Kevin,” Nick interrupts before he can finish. “Where’s your little boyfriend?”

“Sick in bed with the flu,” Kevin responds, stealing a french fry off of Shelby’s plate. “Why aren’t you eating?”

“She’s worried about Kaylee,” Alyssa responds for her. “Our team is falling apart. Greg has the flu, Kaylee has whatever the fuck is wrong with her, you’re gonna get sick next.”

“I have a strong immune system,” Shelby rolls her eyes, refreshing her phone once again.

“Shelbs,” Alyssa’s voice is suddenly soft, which makes her finally lookup. “Please go home to Kaylee. You’re acting like a useless lesbian.”

“I’m bisexual.”

The table goes silent. Shelby’s eyes widen as she realizes what she’s said, and she quickly gathers up all of her things. “Shelby,” Alyssa reaches across the table to grab her hand, making her finally looking into her eyes. “I’m so proud of you. Please go take care of your girl.”

Shelby nods, and both girls stand up and move so that they can hug each other. “We won’t tell a soul,” Alyssa whispers, rubbing her back. “I’ll make sure of it.”

She nods again, and when she pulls away she sees that Kevin is holding her bookbag out to her. “Love you,” he smiles as he hands it to her.

“Love you too,” she smiles back, throwing away her trash before walking out of the door.

After driving home from school, Shelby pulls into the driveway of her house. As she enters she shuts the door quietly behind her, attempting not to wake the girl who she prayed was finally asleep. Instead, she finds Kaylee standing in the doorway of the hallway, blanket dragging behind her like a small child. “I heard your car pull in,” she says, her words distorted because of her stuffed nose. “You’re home early.”

“Yeah, I got worried about you,” Shelby walks towards her and is immediately greeted with an armful of her favorite person. “Oh honey, you’re burning up.”

“I don’t feel good,” Kaylee finally admits, eyes welling up with tears as Shelby pulls away.

“I’ll make it better,” she promises softly, gently planting a kiss on her forehead before she can even comprehend what she’s doing.

Luckily for her, Kaylee doesn’t seem to notice, instead pulling her back in for a hug. They go back upstairs, and Shelby helps Kaylee to bed before grabbing her laptop and putting on a movie. “I love you,” Kaylee whispers as she curls up in Shelby’s arms.

“I love you too.”

“Promise?”

Oh Kay, you have no idea.

* * *

Kaylee’s screams wake Shelby up that night. Everything had been going okay. Her fever was down, she had eaten dinner, and they had fallen asleep watching some cheesy rom-com that Kaylee had picked out. Everything had been fine.

“Hey hey, what’s going on?” Shelby jolts awake, slyly flicking the lap on her bedside table on. 

Kaylee is drenched in sweat from head to toe, with tears running down her face as if her eyes themselves were waterfalls. As soon as her eyes meet Shelby’s she buries her face in her neck again, and the darker haired girl can suddenly feel the sheer amount of heat coming off of her. She can’t seem to answer her best friend, instead opting to sob instead. Carefully, Shelby dips the washcloth on her nightstand and dips it into a bowl of cold water, thankful her dad had brought it up for them. She lays the washcloth on the back of her neck, since her face is currently unreachable, and rubs her back soothingly trying to calm her down.

“Kaylee, it’s gonna be okay I promise.”   
Shelby’s heart shatters into a thousand little pieces as the girl in her arms cries, each one more terrified and sadder than the last. Her body is on fire compared to her own, and it takes everything in her not to take off the blanket she had laid on top of them. The only thing truly stopping her way the way her best friend’s body was shaking, and the way her teeth chattered as she burrowed her head back into the crook of the darker girl’s neck.

The cries don’t stop, and Shelby has no idea what to do. She’s put the washcloth on the back of her neck, she’s given her the blanket, she’s holding her, what more is she supposed to do? Finally, it comes to her in a memory of her childhood, the way her mother would play with her hair and whisper that everything would be alright. At the time, Shelby believed her. Funny how things had changed.

For now, though, she needed Kaylee to believe her. She carefully moves her fingers through tangled brunette locks, massaging her scalp and carefully kissing the top of her head as gently as possible without even thinking. “I’ve got you Kay. you’re going to be alright, I promise. I won’t let anyone hurt you,” her voice is such a soft whisper at this point that she’s surprised the girl can even hear her.

The cries die down into whimpers which eventually turn into sniffles that slowly progress into total silence. Shelby finally relaxes as she believes Kaylee has fallen asleep, rubbing her back with one hand and continuing to play with her hair with the other, afraid that if she stopped she would suddenly wake again. She’s so convinced that she’s sleeping that when Kaylee sits up, it startles her. “Hey,” she smiles warmly as she calms down. “How’re you feeling?”

“Okay,” Kaylee smiles back, laying her head back onto Shelby’s chest. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“I always will.”   
“Hey, Shelby?” Kaylee bites her bottom lip, refusing to move from her position to look at the girl.

“Yes, Kay?”

“I really want to kiss you.”   
Shelby’s taken aback for a moment. This has to be the fever talking, some delusion that Kaylee now thinks she’s really Nick and ready to get back together. There is no way that what she said is her real feelings. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do,” Kaylee sits up now, eyes meeting Shelby’s with fear in them that her best friend had never seen before. “I think I love you.”

“Oh.”

Suddenly, the space between them seems all too much, and all Kaylee wants is to close the gap between their lips. She wants to reveal the feelings that had been there since freshman year, the ones she had pushed down and repressed since the day Emma came out, the ones that her parents told her were getting her sent to Hell. All she wanted was to kiss the girl in front of her.

So she did.

Well, she tried to.

“Kaylee,” Shelby holds her head in her hand, caressing her cheek softly with her thumb. Kaylee couldn’t help but lean into the touch. “Alyssa is going to kill us.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want you having to take care of me.”

“I know.”

“I promise I’ll kiss you later.”

“I- you will?”

“Yes.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Silence swells in the room, but both girls rather like it. This silence is comfortable and almost happy. This is a thousand repressed “I love you”s, a thousand silent kisses, a thousand stolen moments all being poured out at once. This silence means that there is hope. 

They fall asleep in each other’s arms, happier than they had ever been before.


End file.
